Looking for Commentated Gaia Project Games

[Malodon]

I enjoy learning from watching better people play Gaia Project and as someone new to BGA and Gaia in general I'm struggling to find online videos that have games in a decently watchable format with some form of commentary on decisions being made especially if I try to find a specific faction played. Any suggestions channels, links etc greatly appreciated. (If there is a post like this somewhere on the forum I'm sorry for copying)

[FDHenneberg]

There is a Gaia Project forum on BGA, you should post there if you have further questions. I recommend the Paia Groject podcast (discontinued) for in depth strategy discussions, but they only have one episode with a replay. They provide a link to a game on a platform (we’re not allowed to name other gaming platforms in the forum), and you can do the replay yourself. It’s not a full game though, but they go into great detail about the most important steps in the first round or so. Otherwise, I can’t help as I’ve been looking myself without finding anything. Reading strategy discussions on BGG and checking uncommented replays on BGA isn’t exactly the same, but it helps anyway. Look for the Arena standings or all time Elo, select a top player, and click through a recent game from their perspective, comparing their actions to the strategy tips.

I’m a notoriously bad player, so I can’t really help you apart from that. The standard tips like ABC, aim for at least three federations, analyse the whole board before choosing a faction etc didn’t really do it for me, even though they are totally correct. What helped me a little is to stick to a beginner friendly yet strong allround faction (for me, that’s Ambas), even if they aren’t optimal in the setting at hand. Then do the same for the Terrans to get used to a Gaiaforming faction. Then again with Ivits as one of the best factions. After that, you have three colors and three styles of play, so you can start analyzing the board before choosing one (advanced tech tiles, tech tiles, planets, main goals, EoR goals, boosters). You could then learn how to deal with the other factions.

Edit: spelling. Also, from a learners perspective, it really helps to concentrate on two tech tracks that are good for your faction, even if the tech tiles aren’t optimal. Later, if you encounter the same situation, you’d maybe pick a different faction, but for learning, it’s less important, especially in regard to advanced tech.

[Kayvon]

You'll want to check out the solo competition threads in the Gaia Project subforum. They each give you a "seed", which is a code you use to ensure your game has an identical setup to everyone else for that competition. Players would repeat these games over and over, sharing tips on strategies to achieve the best score possible.

A player ran these friendly competitions every month for a long time. You'll love them.

[FDHenneberg]

In the post mentioned by Kayvon, the user montybojangles actually mentions several You Tube channels with replays. Didn’t yet check if they have commentary.

[Malodon]

Thankyou for the tips and suggestions I'm definitely gonna check out the competition!